The role sexed semen has to play on Irish dairy farms was the focus of episode two of the Sustainable Breeding Summit this week.
In this episode, Trevor Hanly gave some insight into how he advises farmers looking at using sexed semen.
Denis Howard from Munster Bovine gave some insight into the purity of sexed semen, how bulls are selected, and the number straws available.
Sustainable Breeding Summit
Sexed semen on a lot of dairy farms is used in conjunction with a synchronisation programme.
Artificial insemination (AI) technician, Ben Slee from Munster Bovine, commented on how farmers can stack the odds in their favour to get higher conception rates from sexed semen.
“Before I even arrive on farm to AI the animals, you’ve already spoken with the farmer and vet about the programme to ensure you are available,” Ben explained.
“There is no point ringing on the day, it needs to be planned well in advance.
“If you are using a number bulls on the heifer, have them split into different pens, so each animal in the pen is getting the same bull.
“This allows the technician to AI the animals faster and ensure they are being AI’ed at the optimum time for the programme.”
Asked about the handling of a sexed versus conventional semen, Ben said: “You really want a sexed straw being used within five minutes of being thawed.
“The more organisation, the quicker the straw can be inserted into the animals.”
Planning is key
A lot of time and effort goes into a synchronisation programme, so having everything planned out is key.
It is important that everyone who is involved with the programme is aware of the plans and is available.
As Ben said, have the heifers split into different pens based on the sire that is being used on them, and if possible, have someone to load the AI gun.
You are working within a window so the quicker you can get all the heifers served, the better and more likely they are to hold to serve.